Electric Vs. Direct Fire

[HumboldtBrewer]

So I am debating on wether I want a direct fire BrewEasy or an electric. I would want to get the 5 gallon BrewEasy and would like to even brew 3 gallon batches, but I am concerned that if I did 3 gallon batches that the heat coils would not be submerged.

What are some of the benefits for direct fire over electric and vice versa?

I am not a electrician or even knowledgable on the subject, so how hard is it to get a 240V plug installed?


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[mspindler]

If you build an electric setup yourself, you can address the 3-gallon issue when you design it! For 5 gallons, no need to go 240V. I have an all electric system doing 5 gallon batches and I use 2 120V elements in a 10-gallon pot. One is hooked up to a PID controller to control mash temps, then when it's time to boil I just plug the second one in and together they have no problems getting up to a good vigorous boil. Just make sure each element is plugged into a separate outlet, and that each outlet is on a separate breaker. I tested this by shutting off all but one breaker and testing which outlets worked. I found that the outlets in my kitchen are hooked to 3 different breakers, which works out perfect.

By the way, I love my system and I don't know that I'd want to go back to direct fire. I put some pics up here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f29/joined-07-first-post-484593/

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[wobdee]

How bout a 3500w induction burner?